Interesting Fact
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Interesting Question
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1. “Tax and spend,” “tax and spend liberal,” what an
effective political campaign weapon this phrase has
been, especially since the 1980s. Defending taxes
and government spending would seem to be the
ultimate fools errand.
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1. If the gasoline tax creates good paying private
sector jobs, is that a bad thing? Gasoline taxes are
used to build and maintain our roads. Most of these
jobs are in the private sector. This is government
spending. One nationally syndicated radio talk
show host has said repeatedly: “We get absolutely
nothing from the gas tax.” Is he that ignorant or is
he lying?
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2. Ronald Reagan was well known for his opposition
to taxes and government spending.
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2. Under Reagan, social security benefits became
taxable (and the retirement age was raised.) The
massive government spending for Reagan’s military
buildup dramatically increased the national debt.
He said the spending was necessary to win the Cold
War. But was the Cold War necessary? The Cold
War was protectionism for aggressive global
capitalism. Was North Viet Nam a national security
threat to the United States? Hardly. The Cold War
ended because Mikhail Gorbachev decided it was a
dangerous exercise in stupidity and a gigantic waste
of money.
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3. John McCain said: “Ireland now has an 11%
business tax. The [U.S.] has a 35% business tax.
Where are businesses going to go?”
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3. Does this verify the axiom that capitalism has no
allegiance to any country? Does McCain not know
that 65% of U.S. corporations (because of
loopholes) pay no taxes? Does he not know that
corporations (and individuals), who don’t pay their
fair share of taxes, put their tax burden on the
businesses (and individuals) that do pay their fair
share?
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4. Many people complain that their taxes are too
high.
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4. Taxes are only one part of a two-part
ratio/proportion problem that determines how much
you have to live on. The other half is income. The
amount of money that you get to keep after taxes is
the important thing. Is it possible that your taxes are
too high because your income is too low? If this is
true, you have a problem with your employer, not
your government. It is interesting to note that
conservative talk show hosts spend a lot of time
telling their audience that they pay too much in
taxes but they never (as far as I know) tell them that
they don’t make enough money.
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5. Conservatives, especially conservative talk show
hosts, constantly complain about paying taxes.
Even if they are multi-millionaires with enormous
after tax incomes, they still complain about paying
taxes.
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5. Are multi-millionaires or multi-billionaires, with
enormous after tax incomes that complain about
paying taxes, crybabies?
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6. A famous multi-millionaire radio talk show host
with an enormous after tax income complained about
our “confiscatory tax system.”
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6. If America has a “confiscatory tax system,” where
did all the American multi- millionaires and multi-
billionaires come from?
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7. Conservatives warn that: “raising taxes on the rich
kills jobs because rich people, with their investments,
create jobs.”
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7. If rich people threaten to cut jobs because they
have to pay more taxes than they like, is this
economic blackmail? How does raising taxes on
the rich kill jobs? It’s called “capital flight.” They
invest their money where they find the cheapest
work force. This can include doctors, engineers
and managers as well as labor. Is the entire
spectrum of the American work force powerless in
the face of these threats?
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8. Conservatives say raising taxes kills jobs and
cutting taxes produces economic growth and a
sound economy. We have been cutting taxes for the
last seven years.
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8. If we have been cutting taxes for more than seven
years, why are we having all these economic
problems (10-4-08)? Many politicians, including
president Bush, now admit that we are having
“tough economic times.” Why don’t they give us a
precise and complete explanation of why we are
having tough economic times? This is part of their
job.
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9. Investors and businessmen threaten to move jobs
overseas to slave wage “developing countries” if
they don’t like the America’s tax structure.
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9. What are the implications when businessmen and
investors turn their backs on their country and move
jobs to low wage countries so they can pay lower
taxes? First, they destroy a vitally important source
of government revenue, a major cause of our 9.5
trillion dollar national debt. Second, they destroy
our vitally needed economic infrastructure. Third,
they rob the country of the funds necessary to build
and maintain our national infrastructure. Forth, they
demoralize and destabilize millions of American
workers and their families.
Are American workers powerless in the face of this
assault on their standard of living and quality of life?
This is class warfare; pointing out economic and
social injustice is not class warfare contrary to the
pronouncements of conservative talk show hosts.
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10. The U.S. Constitution gives the federal
government the power to issue debt free legal
tender United States Notes and use them to
“promote the general welfare” of the American
people. In 1862 Abraham Lincoln proved that
United States Notes could be used for national
defense.
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10. Global capitalist businessmen and investors who
flee to low wage countries to avoid taxes have no
allegiance to the United States of America. This
capital flight is the number one cause of our current
economic and fiscal problems (see question number
9). Conservative commentators skillfully cover the
tracks of the fleeing capitalists by blaming “out of
control government spending and regulations” for
our problems.
Now that the “free flow of capital” has left America in
the lurch with real and massive economic problems,
what can be done now fix the mess they left
behind?
The “credit crunch,” if left unchecked, could totally
wreck our economy and lead to social breakdown.
Economic and social breakdown brought the Nazis
to power in 1933. Prolonged and severe economic
and social instability would be a threat to our
national security. Thus, “in order to insure domestic
tranquility” and “promote the general welfare” of the
American people, the Constitution gives the
government the authority to issue United States
Notes. This debt free legal tender could be used to
nationalize those parts of the economy that have
been abandoned or destroyed by capital flight.
So, is the American work force powerless in the face
of threats of capital flight? No. The founding fathers
gave us the power in our Constitution to protect
ourselves. And Abraham Lincoln set the example
for how it can be done. Abraham Lincoln used this
authority in 1862 to save America from an existential
threat; the same authority can be used today.
Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle to following
Abraham Lincoln’s example is our bought and paid
for politicians.
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11. Pundits, economists and politicians constantly
tell us that we must export in order to fix our
enormous trade deficit. It is a little known fact that
exports are a component of the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) calculation. Oddly, government
spending is also a part of our GDP. We used to
have a measurement called Gross National Product.
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11. Why are we always told that, in order to fix our
trade deficit, we must export and never told that we
must recapture our own markets? This would
accomplish exactly the same thing except that we
would not continue to waste an enormous amount of
fossil fuel needlessly shipping manufactured
products and raw materials back and forth all over
the world. Talk about a stupid energy policy!
The answer to the above question can be found in a
dirty little secret loophole buried in our tax code:
profits made overseas, stay overseas. This is a
major reason why jobs are shipped overseas and
despite the efforts of some good politicians in
Congress, who have tried year after year after year,
it is impossible to get the law changed. Is this the
reason why we now calculate GDP instead of GNP?
And what kind of twisted logic would call for
government spending to be included in the Gross
Domestic Product? Wow, George W. Bush has
really produced a lot of economic growth!
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12. People laugh at the out of date clothing styles
when they look at old pictures from the 1960s and
1970s.
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12. Some day, will we look back and laugh at the
hair brained, deregulated, free market, globalist
economic theories that almost brought our country
to rack and ruin? Or will we look back in anger?
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13. Conservative, politicians, pundits, talk show
hosts and academics constantly complain about
taxes and government spending. And in the
process, they never miss an opportunity to slam
“The Government.” In particular, one “Great
American” on his radio show is particularly vicious in
his constant, endless verbal attacks. As a patriotic,
America first, veteran, I find this extremely
offensive. I listen to conservative talk radio almost
every day and I hear a constant anti-government
smear campaign. It seems strange to me that
nobody ever stands up and defends our
government. Even conservative politicians pile on
and try to discredit our great government. I think it’s
time that someone stood up for our government and
finally put things in proper perspective.
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13. Are politicians and the government the same
thing? NO. When I hear people slamming the
government, I like to educate them by telling them:
We have a great government but we have rotten
politicians. Conservatives like to wave the flag and
crow about how they love and respect the
Constitution. If you hate the government, you hate
the Constitution. The Constitution is the
government and the government is the
Constitution. It’s the rotten politicians that discredit
our government.
There should be a law that when anyone says
something against “The Government,” they would
be required to name the specific politician,
bureaucrat, agency, commission, official, law or
individual responsible for the government action
with which they have a problem. If you criticize “The
Government” you should mean the government.
But remember, when you attack the government you
are attacking the Constitution and the country that
is defined by the Constitution: America.
Why is the distinction between politicians and
government important? According to my dictionary,
page 1420: “SEDITION is any act, writing, speech,
etc., … calculated to bring the government into
contempt or to incite others to hostility or
disaffection.” Although my dictionary considers
treason and sedition synonymous, the Constitution
makes a distinction. Thus, sedition is not a capital
offence. Nevertheless, sedition is hardly
appropriate for a “Great American.” The free
speech guaranteed in the Constitution does not
apply when it comes to sedition.
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14. Conservatives complain about taxes and
government spending so much they sound like a
broken record (CD?). If they really were serious,
they would say exactly what spending they want to
cut.
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14. Why are conservatives usually vague and short
on specifics when they denounce government
spending? Could it be that when their wish list is
added up it would be a surprisingly small part of the
federal budget? On the other hand, if you added
up the wish list of spending cuts of the liberals and
populists, would it be a huge part of the federal
budget? It would be interesting and enlightening to
see a comparison of these two lists.
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15. Tax breaks, the hidden currency of our political
system. Tax breaks, the product purchased with
campaign contributions. Tax breaks, the real reason
our tax code is so complex and thousands of pages
long.
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15. How can politicians promise tax breaks when we
have a 9.5 trillion dollar debt? How can they
promise money (tax revenue) to states, counties,
cities, hospitals, businesses, schools, researchers
and individuals when we have a 9.5 trillion dollar
debt? It is true that much or even most of this
money will be spent on necessary or even vital
purposes but what about the debt? Is there a way
out of this double bind? Yes.
What is the solution to this problem, a problem that
threatens our future prosperity and security? The
answer to this vitally important question is United
States Notes. The financial markets and their
surrogates, the same people who put us in this
dangerous fiscal situation, will reject and denounce
this solution. This is to be expected. Why?
Because when the American people realize that our
fiscal problems could have been avoided by the
solution that these people reject, there will be some
tough questions that will demand some very
embarrassing answers.
The strangle hold of the financial markets must be
broken, before it is too late.
Why doesn’t Congress, to get much needed money
into the economy, issue debt free United States
Notes and make that legal tender money available
for student loans, car loans, mortgages and
business loans? The government could set up loan
offices for this purpose. The Federal Reserve,
instead of selling government debt, would be the
agency that would loan debt free U.S. Notes to the
banks. The banks would pay interest to the
Treasury for the use of the money.
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